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Sharlene

@reallifereading

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📚Reader of books
#apobangpo

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Attempted spectrum of expressions

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When we are briefed by @eps.eats to not have the same facial expression in every photo.

Also - believe it or not - first mookata for all of us

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#teabookpairing The Teenage Textbook by Adrian Tan (@adriantangh) with an aged Tieguanyin from @bluepebblefairy and a teabag bookmark made by @reallifereading (who was also a JC buddy).

I got a new copy of The Teenage Textbook from @chio_books as a way to pay my respects to the late Adrian Tan. I am midway through re-reading it and omg this really hits 90s hard. It makes it hard to articulate somehow 🥹. But @gweezilla says it best in the commemorative essay in the book:

"Not every grown-up is married with kids, has a successful career, or cares to read or travel widely - but everyone was a teenager once. Tan's novel recalls the last years of a personally more innocent time...It spoke to the trials of starry-eyed people seeking to shape their identity even as they were overcoming received wisdom, seeking to take their own unbeaten way."

#bookstagram #teastagram #teenagetextbook #adriantan #sglit #yalit #melteabooks #taiwanesetea #sgauthor

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Happy WIT month to all who celebrate! 🥳 What have we been reading? What’s on the read list? WIT is for always, but how good is it that there’s a whole month we can dedicate to celebrating extra hard?!

Was checking in on the stats at the start of August and, of books translated into English, only about 36% are from non-European countries and less than 31% are written by women. And then there’s the deeper conversations we could have about the Anglophone focus, the scope of womxnhood perspectives available and accessible.

August is full of lit reasons to keep my reading calendar full. I’m going to be open to whatever calls my name but it’s good to have options on stand by to choose from so I can stay somewhat mentally organised lol. On that note, I’ve lined up these #sixbookssoon (thank you for tagging @anotherbooktoread 💕) 🤝🏼 WIT tbr titles, among others 🙊, to choose from throughout the month!

📖 BLUE
📖 BIRTH CANAL*
📖 PINK SLIME*
📖 THE VEGETARIAN (re-read)
📖 HIT PARADE OF TEARS
📖 BODY KINTSUGI (also for #ExYuLit with @danchi.reads & @aliterarysnob 💜)

Tagging a few friends to share their #sixbookssoon (can be anything!) if they feel like. And if you feel like joining in, feel free to consider yourself tagged. Here’s to only good books this month! 💃🏻

*gifted with thanks to publisher My hand reaches out to an array of six books laid out on a carpeted surface.

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“This or That” bookish edition
Challenge by @lindsloveslit
Thanks for the tag, @dauhns_booklist! 💕

📚Library/Borrowed or Owned
Both! Chicago Public Library is one of the best things the city has to offer, and I depend much on the library. Plus, our neighborhood branch is very close to where I live, so I have no excuse! I buy a lot of books, however, mostly when I am stressed out or feel the need to reward myself. It is great there are many fantastic independent bookstores nearby. I rely a lot on bookseller recommendations, too.

📚Thrifted or New
I buy mostly new books, but I love old books with yellowed pages. Many of my thrifted books come with unique stories. For example, I have an ex-library copy of “The Little Drummer Girl” by Le Carre (which I haven’t read yet) that traveled from a neighborhood library to a state penitentiary and then to a clinic.

📚Series or Standalone
I tend to read primarily standalone books—there are just more of them, and I feel like it requires less commitment—but I love a good series when I come across one. Some of the series I loved include Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga, Chloe Gong books, Ninth House-Hell Bent, and Vivien Chien’s noodle house cozy mysteries.

📚Read Multiple or One at a Time
I almost always read multiple. I think that’s the only way I can read poetry and short stories (to read them alongside a fiction or nonfiction book).

📚Ebook or Physical Copy
Physical copy!!! I love the tactile experience of reading a psychical copy: holding a book, touching the paper pages, feeling the cover, smelling the book, etc. 🤣 But I read some ebooks in Korean because Korean books are hard to find here.

📚Annotate or Clean Pages
Clean pages. I take notes in a separate notebook. But I love looking at booksta feeds with annotations!

📚Reread an Old Fave or Once & Done
Once and done! Because there is always the next book I can’t wait to get to!

Thanks for reading my “this or that” bookish edition! Do we share any reading habits and preferences?

Tagging some booksta friends here, but no pressure. Also, feel free to join in, tagged or not! I would love to learn more about the way you read. 💕

#aboutthebookstagrammer

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Thanks @af.fic.tionateletters and @booksandtehpeng for tagging me in #whatismycurrent. Sorry it took a while to get to this!

❄️ current read/ #readingupdate
Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times by @katherinemay_ I need so much help in this

🐻 current movie
I only just caught Paddington 2 on Netflix and it is really quite a delightful show and I have a crush on Hugh Grant all over again heh.

🏋️‍♀️ current show
Wellmania with @celestebarber The awkward and down-to-earth Aussie humour makes me miss Melbourne very much

🍵 🍚 current food craving
thunder tea rice – any recommendations on good ones in #Singapore?

🍹 current drink craving
negroni as it reminds me of a European summer holiday

🎶 current songs I like
any song by @laufey – her music feels like a fairytale. And I am so excited I'll be going to her Singapore concert in June!

👃 current favourite scent
barley with pandan leaves boiling in a pot (been drinking a lot of this as have been on the heaty side...)

👀 what I’m looking forward to
- getting two children’s books out this year – both mean a lot to me!
- travelling somewhere temperate at the end of the year (fingers crossed)
- exploring possibilities

tagging @janicekhoohw @vivianteowriter @reallifereading @filbertandfluff and anyone who feels like doing it!

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Thanks to @booksandtehpeng for tagging me on #whatthisweek and @readingupdate!

Reading: Diplomatic Baggage by Brigid Keenan
Listening: @thekoreanvegan podcast - Epi 21. A Love Story
Blog : 2nd post 😅 of 2022 is up at eminesaj.com
Exercise: not featured here but worth a shout-out @nicolewinhoffer 7 days chakra exercise! A blend of spiritual- cardio for the heart, soul and body. If you’re keen to know more, reach out!

Tagging a few of you to join the fun 😊- no pressure and have a lovely weekend ahead!

#books #bookstagramsg #bookstagramsg #readersofig #readersofsingapore #weeklyreading #brigidkeenan #bibliophile #iggyyhreads

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Catch-up lunch with @reallifereading and @jillswong

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I was tagged by @alisha_reads_and_rambles to post the #ladybirdstack Is there a new book in this stack that you haven’t heard of yet??

Tagged or not, feel free to use this cool idea…I didn’t realize I had so many black and red books!

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Happy #Friday! So many gorgeous #bookstagrams these past few weeks. Thank yous to:

@mythical.moss
@reannecanread
@beautyandthebooks.susie
@adelaideziki
@littleislandreads
my.charactershelf
@reallifereading
@chavi.reads
@livrosanonymous
@rotatinglibrary

#fanartfriday #fanart #yabooks #ireadya #wndb #weneeddiversebooks #yareadersofig #yareadersofinstagram #yaauthors #yalovin #bookishfeature #bookishlove #writerscommunity #writerslife #writerscorner #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #wordart #useyourwords #writemore #bookenthusiast

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Thanks to the lovely @anotherbooktoread for tagging me to do the #lastnownextreads tag! My posting-on-BG mojo has been MIA so this was a fun reason to get back into it
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📚 Since I’m doing the #deweyapril @deweysreadathon this weekend, this will be the #readathon version! We’re in hour 18/24 so hopefully this counts for the ‘Colourful’ #readathonhourlyphoto prompt too!
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So far I’ve read for about 2-3 hours thereabouts, which I’m stoked about. Though tbh I would’ve been happy to clock even an hour 🙊
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📖 LAST // I’ve finished Omar Sakr’s poetry collection The Lost Arabs - it left an imprint on my heart .
📖 NOW // #currentlyreading The Glass Hotel. I’m 70% in and this is more of my ‘settled in for the evening’ book so I’m hoping to get to it tonight, maybe even finish it if I’m lucky! 🤞🏼 .
📖 NEXT // thinking of starting this short story collection by Witi Ihimaera next. Don’t think I’ll have finished it before the readathon ends but it will be nice to dip in and out of and maybe read aloud to baby lol - miss having a collection of shorter works to read on the side!
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If you’re doing the readathon, how’s it going so far? I’ve tagged a few friends to feature their #lastnownextreads if they feel like, some who are doing the readathon too. If you’d like to share yours, consider yourself tagged! 😄

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When @johnisreading and @bookieecookiee both tagged me in the #oneauthorbookstack, I was scratching my head of which author to feature. I don’t have big collections of a single author as I prefer to read widely and not stick to a select list of authors. ⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Beyond obvious choices like the Harry Potter series and whatnot, I chose Khaled Hosseini @khosseini as the author to feature. I’ve read all his books years ago, but these were the works that first introduced me to a literary canon outside the Western canon while still in college and were books I picked up on my own (books covered during my world literature classes don’t count here!) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Some may paint his works as grief-manipulators, but these were works that helped me empathise with people dealing with political instability or ethnic conflicts. Maybe it’s why I’m still drawn to stories of conflict and the human spirit. (Or maybe I just like depressing narratives, who knows?) ⠀⠀
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(Not pictured here is his children’s graphic book the Sea Prayer - which I finished in one sitting while standing around in a book store) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Tagging a few friends to share their stories! Which author is a must-buy for you? And why?

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